The letters contain information on the history of Beloit College and on trips Eaton made to Europe and to China between 1892 and 1908; also occasional commentary on American social and economic developments.
Among the family papers dated prior to 1875 are a few letters of his father, Samuel W. Eaton, who came to Wisconsin as an American Home Missionary in 1846 and served as chaplain of the 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War; among his correspondents were Aratus Kent and Stephen Peet and other clergymen of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. A few papers relate to Edward D. Eaton’s wife, Martha Barber Eaton, and to her father, J. Allen Barber, and her mother, Elizabeth Banfill Barber.
The correspondence after 1920 consists primarily of notes of condolence written after Mrs. Eaton’s death and messages congratulating Eaton upon the publication of his autobiography and other books on the history of Beloit College and on his family. The collection also includes a representative selection of Dr. Eaton’s sermons, in manuscript, illustrating his views on a variety of topics during the years of his ministry. Eighteen volumes of assorted diaries, notebooks, and personal financial records kept by members of the family supplement the correspondence.
